The present invention relates to a collaborative information processing system in which a plurality of terminal users in an identical building or facility or at remote locations conduct an electronic conversation or a collaborative information processing while referencing an identical screen image through data communications, and in particular, to a program control method for implementing an electronic conversation.
Heretofore, meeting have been held through telephone and facsimile communications. Moreover, there has been an increasing need in recent years a system in which group work is accomplished in a realtime fashion based on electronically processed information by use of remotely located workstations communicating via high-speed communication networks. An example of such a system has been reported in "Multimedia Environment for Remote Multiple Attendee Interactive Decision-making: MERMAID" presented in the 40-th National Convention IPS, Japan.
In the conventional system of the type mentioned above, an application program (a client program) to be applied to an electronic conversation, or a collaborative information processing is required to be unique to the system. In such a system, various types of programs already accumulated cannot be utilized for collaborative information processing. Consequently, it is necessary for the program developing section to additionally prepare programs for this particular type of system. Moreover, the user is disadvantageously required to learn how to operate programs unique to such a system.